Babies and Blood Sugar

BaBiEs:
The other night, when Bryan got home from Elders Quorum dodge ball, I was already asleep. I'm sorry to admit that when I am woken up within the first hour of my falling asleep I am not a happy camper. Most the time I am too delusional to be held accountable. This was one of those nights. Apparently I snapped at him and told him I barely get any sleep between the baby kicking me in the ribs, making me uncomfortable, and making me have to go to the bathroom every hour. I do not need YOU waking me up on top of it all. True to Bry's style he decides to make a joke out of it. This is when I actually woke up and realized what was going on.
BaWlInG:
Bryan says to me--
Ashley, one day this summer I am going to come home from work and my son will look up at me and want to say help me dad. "Mom has been kicking me in the ribs saying, how do you like it, all day long. Then she pulls and stretches my skin and pokes at my belly button. She's been pushing on my bladder saying, it's not so fun to have your badder bounced on is it?!? And then she laid me on the floor and started doing somersaults over me and said it was pay back time. I don't know what I did to deserve this. Save me dad, save me."
I was dying laughing to the point that I was bawling and could not breath. Bryan has an amazing talent to turn something annoying he's done into humor. I am very grateful for that!
BlOoD sUgAr:
I had my glucose screening test done today. As if fasting for 12 hours one time while you are pregnant isn't enough they tell you sorry your blood sugar is "definitely not in a safe range" and we will need to have you do the FOUR HOUR screening test. I get to do another lovely 14 hour fast accompanied by having my blood drawn FOUR TIMES! Should make for a very interesting day considering I normally faint on a full stomach. Honestly I expected this because diabetes runs in my family. Why should I be the lucky one to get away without it? The real kicker is telling a pregnant woman that she shouldn't eat sugary foods anymore. I'm pretty sure I crave chocolate at least once a day. And by crave I mean have to have or I can't function because the craving is all I can think about. (It's out of control--I have never felt like that before). Under no circumstances will a carrot ever meet the needs of a chocolate craving. All in all this is probably a blessing (minus the whole blood work thing). Maybe the next 3 months will develop better eating habits for me. Plus the less junk I eat now the less weight I have to worry about later.
BlEsSiNgS:
Being able to say any of this at all is one of the biggest blessing in my life. I am truly so grateful to be kicked in the ribs every night. I really love it...seriously. I am beyond thankful to even have the chance to have gestational diabetes. :) Anything that I have to experience during pregnancy is a blessing and totally worth it. Everything we had to go through to get to this point has just made me that much more grateful for these little things.

Expect the Unexpected...

One thing you can always count on is that life brings unexpected twists! Although you can expect this it still brings the unknown and unfortunately I don't deal well with that no matter how hard I try. Luckily I got blessed with the most amazing in laws who are really helping us with everything that is ahead.
Okay so we got a huge blessing last week. Bry interviewed at two firms in California right outside of Sacramento and got offered intern positions at both. He absolutely loved one of the firms and is planning on working there for the summer. This will be such an incredible opportunity for him. They are allowing him to work as a clerk but also to shadow actual court cases with their attorneys. He's very excited to further his law education in this way after working so hard this year. Anyway we feel so blessed that this fell into place for him. All this is very, very good news...I just started panicking once I really thought about what this meant. They want him to start May 5...last time I checked I am supposed to be having a baby May 24! So instead of going into problem solving mode I just sat and worried and cried. Will a new doctor take me this late in my pregnancy? What hospital do I go to? Our insurance will only cover 60% of out of state providers! Am I going to go into labor in the middle of Nevada?!? Okay I wont make you endure the 9 million other questions that ran through my head. Like I said before I am so grateful for my in laws. They really came to our rescue. They are going to let us live with them all summer; they helped
us figure out a second insurance. My sister in law called her OBGYN and the hospital to confirm they will accept me in May. Although we still have some things to figure out I am feeling much better about everything. I realize I can't plan out exactly what is going to happen with my delivery and I just need to calm down!!
We had such a fun trip to California. Besides Bryan's interviews he also was asked to be a guest lecturer in one of his old professors Business Law classes. I got to sit in on the class and watch. I laughed when the professor asked Bry what was the most exciting thing he'd done in life up until now and he replied with, "getting married in the middle of a semester was pretty exciting." All the students that were not LDS looked at him like you have got to be kidding me loser. Very different environment from BYU. Jolene, Tami, and Megan threw me the cutest "on the go" shower. It was such a fun day!!! In the morning they handed me an envolope full of coupons for things like $50 at Pottery Barn Kids, a bring home baby Gymboree outfit, and our favorite things from Babies R Us. We went to lunch at Olive Garden and later that night after a full day of shopping got chocolate cake!

I got sooooooooooo spoiled at Gymboree. I am still in shock. I go home and just stare at the little clothes--I can't wait to put our little boy in them! Here are the cute outfits I came home with. I got the entire Alligator line and I am in love with it!















































We just love being around family out there and getting to be involved in everything. We got to see the progress on Tami and Wes's new home, went to Fool's Gold with Bry's parents, went to Bry's cousins homecoming, and got to babysit our little neice and nephew.

And while we were out there we celebrated Happy Third Trimester!

Farewell Woody Deem

These last two weeks Bryan has participated in the Woody Deem Trial Competition that the Law School put on. For some reason this meant that I also got to participate in the Woody Deem Trial Competition. He needed a witness and thought I would be easiest to train. Personally I think he thought that the other teams would go easier on me because I was pregnant (not the case by the way). So for the last two weeks I have been Ty McGuire, the defendant being sued for neglegence over a fire fighters death. Since graduating college I have actually grown to hate public speaking--weird huh?!? I was extremely nervous to do this--I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and I couldn't stop shaking. In the end I was actually really glad that Bry asked me. I got to see him in action which was so fun. Law just fits his personality too perfectly. After the trial I'd leave shaking and he'd have a huge grin on his face wishing it had lasted longer. He did awesome making it to the third round which also pretty much insures him a place on the trial competition team!!! Here we are before Round 3 where he had to go up against a 2L & 3L. A little intimidating. The second round was probably the most entertaining to watch. They were really duking it out! I thought fists were going to fly. Basically I was ready to crawl into a corner and hide. And the wierdest part to me was that they would be so intense in the court room and then in the end act like nothing happened. Besides Woody Deem we haven't been up to much. School is keeping Bry really busy. I'm back at work full time...which is good and bad. :) I spend my days searching the internet for Gymboree sales and trying to find coupons for diapers. We've also hade some major changes with my look since I last posted pictures. I feel like I've doubled in size.
Me at 23 weeks right after getting off "bedrest". Happy 5 months!

Valentine's Belly--100 Days Left! (25 weeks and 5 days)

Bryan checking out our carseat!!!! (He was not thrilled that I wanted yet another picture but he got over it--it's for posterity.)

And now we are off to Califonia for Bry's interviews!

Happy Valentine's Day

On this most lovely of days I thought I'd share some love quotes with you all. I am so grateful to have found these things in the love I have for my husband!
LOVE <3
<3 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
-1 Corinthians 13:4-7

<3 One word frees us of all the weight and pain for the world: that word is love. –Sophocles

<3 The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart. –Helen Keller

<3 I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. -Roy Croft

<3 Love is the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. -Mark Twain

<3 Love is the seed of all hope. It is the enticement to trust, to risk, to try, to go on. -Gloria Gaither

<3 Love is the emblem of eternity: it confounds all notion of time: effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end. -Germaine De Stael

<3 You know it's love when you want to keep holding hands even after you're sweaty. -Anonymous Happy One Hundred!
Today is also special for us for another reason...I have exactly one hundred days to go until we meet our little baby boy!! The love I already feel for this baby is beyond words; I really cannot imagine how I will feel when he is born. As excited as I am it was also kind of a sad realization. Pregnancy has gone too fast. I have actually really loved being pregnant. I love feeling him move and knowing that he is growing and safe. Never failing, his movement brings a smile to my face. The other day at Bryan's trial competition someone asked us if we had any kids at home and Bryan's reply was, "No we just bring ours with us everywhere." I love that! So here is to enjoying the next 100 days to the very fullest!

Big Mama?!?

This morning when I was getting dressed I put on one of my white shirts from Undertease. I thought to myself--I really need to get a few more of these. My sister in law gave them to me so I didn't know what size they were. I look at the shirt and there was no size on it. All pregnant woman can't wear the same Undertease size can they??? Then I look at it again and see it says "Little Mama."

What are the other two sizes then? Average Mama and Big Mama?? Seriously?!? What pregnant lady would want to buy a shirt sized BIG MAMA? It can't be. I am going to the store just to see if this is true.

Scaredy Pants

I'm the first to admit that I am no outdoors extremist....this includes not liking spiders. BUT I never would say they terrify me to the point that I can't take one out with my shoe! Yesterday morning I got in the shower and there was a big ol' spider in the window. I freaked--froze. I tried to pull myself together. Bryan was still sleeping and I was not going to wake him up to kill this stupid thing. I knew I'd never hear the end of it. I took my shaving cream bottle and hoovered over the thing, then pounded down. The stupid spider jump attacked me. I couldn't contain my screams as it flew towards me. I was probably a little over dramatic but the thing was attacking. Luckily, the shower water came to my rescue and it got washed down the drain. Unfortunately I couldn't stop screaming til every inch of that evil spider was gone. AND OF COURSE...Bryan was up ready to start the snide remarks.

"Well thanks for trying to take care of it. I'm sure the screams helped. Good effort. But did you honestly think the CONCAVE bottom of the shave bottle would kill it?"

Voting.

I was debating posting this because I know politics is such a sensitive area, but here goes. I've always found politics interesting but I hate the contentious nature of them. Because of that I have tried to distance myself from them. However this election brought about a big reality check for me: I am an adult. This presidential election will greatly effect my own family, our economy, our taxes, our ability to buy a good home, the environment that my children are raised in, and many, many more etcs. I have watched and informed myself more than I normally do with this election. This is also partially due to the fact that every night Bryan would turn on CNN and watch the debates. Unfortunately this decision to be more informed has only made me more frusterated and angry. Normally I tend to be more conservative. That said, just simply looking at these two candidates I can't see where there would be any question.
(The man just looks mean and deceiving to me. Also, is his wife trying to win more votes for him by showing herself as much as a suit will possibly allow? Seriously!)

When I completely set aside the fact that Romney does share the same moral beliefs, he is clearly still the better guy for the job especially if you consider yourself a conservative! He is running for the executive office. Obviously this requires much experience with the economy. The man has that--look at the companies he has run! I can't understand why America is so oblivious to this. Also, they keep saying that Romeny is "attacking" the other candidates but the reality is HE IS POINTING OUT THE TRUTH IN ALL THE LIES! He is showing the statistics that these other men choose to lie about. It is sickening to me. How does someone that wants to lead our country stand in front of everyone and make things up?!? After last nights Super Tuesday I am left with a pit in my stomach. I respect what McCain did for our country when he was in the service, but now all I see in him is a slimmy politian who is basically a democrat running on the conservative ticket. I don't know if I could vote for him--which leaves me with Clinton or a slight chance of Obama?!? I am left to vote for the better of two evils. Lovely. I am praying for a miracle!